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Goldring or ESCO Troika?

kota

kota

pfm Member
Hi there

I've been given an old 88 made Troika by a very nice Linn forum fellow member which he stored inside a drawer for years now. It came from an used LP12/Ittok he got and was told then when he had the deck reset-up at Cymbiosis the Troika was in pretty bad shape so he decided to get a new different mc cartridge.

Here's a pic of its present state.

IMG_20180516_192235.jpg


A lot has been documented here regarding the Linn Troika rettip/rebuild but I'm afraid I can't find a definite answer as to which of these two companies actually will make it sound as close as to the original one as possible. I don't need any exotic cantilevers as I believe an aluminum one will not only be cheaper but also close to the original one but I'm concerned if the new stylus will be fitted with a blob of glue like some here have reported and not liking it that much.
I live on a budget and money does matter to me a lot. ESCO have already quoted me 325 GBP for a full service including the aluminum cantilever and the Paratrace stylus and Goldring themselves say on their web page a fixed 300 GBP fee plus tax is the minimum one can expect.

Any ideas, please ??

Cheers
 
You are going to get a load more advice based on personal experience and opinion.

Personally I found the goldring service professional, timely and the results indistinguishable from new.

I wouldn't touch ESCO with a bargepole. I have heard troikas sounding like P77's after service.

I imagine you will now hear from someone who thinks ESCO are the best thing since sliced bread.
 
Goldring.

And I speak as someone who had two ESCO Troikas. My Goldring rebuilt ASAKA is quite simply stunning!
 
I knew you would say that, Andrew ;) But the 500 notes you paid for the job is not really an option for me right now. So far the consensus seems to be Goldring. Keep'em coming guys. Really appreciate it ...
 
Goldring.

I have used both and the guys at ESCO are really nice people, but with Goldring, you get full rebuild; effectively a brand new cartridge, and there is no need to upgrade cantilevers or tips if you don’t want too; mine was a straight rebuild.
 
Goldring have just rebuilt my Koetsu, very pleased with the result and service provided was very quick. Highly recommend.
 
I have an Esco rebuilt Troika. I've not listened to it, so no comment on that front. Looks like,

ESCO_1.jpg


and

ESCo_2.JPG


YMMV. Goldring weren't an option when I had this done, I think their chap was away for a bit.
 
That's some very impressive work, IMHO. Really curious why you haven't got the chance to give it the test drive it deserves and share your opinion with us .

Please do :rolleyes:
 
Given my recent experience, I’d get a loupe and give it a good inspection and clean first. An Asaka i picked up as worn just needed a deep clean to get the gunk build up off. Couldn’t tell by looking with naked eye.

I’ll use Goldring when I need a retail on one of them though.
 
Goldring, they were the linn service agent. And it's a full rebuild to original specifications but better stylus.
 
I'm in the same boat of a owning a Troika and considering a rebuild. Does anyone know the respective costs from Goldring as ESCO please?

The pix of ESCO rebuild looks very nice btw,
 
My Troika is an Esco rebuild, must be 8 years old. I like the sound still although it has lost highs and I have to make an effort to distinguish the best bits. I would hate to lose out on tone by going for a tad more detail with a fancy tip. I spoke to the guy in Holland (Killian ?) and he assures me his Ogura tips are the nearest to original and he stresses the importance of conscientious cleaning up of coils etc. during rebuilds. I believe he was Ortofon trained and still has a supply of original Supex parts and that his retips are very close to the originals. Decisions, decisions.
 
I've used ESCo and Goldring. Very happy with both. But as it's a classic Linn cart, I'd go for Goldring. My Karma #1 was done by Dave there and the other one's definitely going too when I've got the spare folding stuff.
 
I'm just about to send my elderly Roksan Shiraz to ESCo (where it came from). I have every confidence that it'll come back sounding superb.
 
I've actually had the same troika rebuilt by both at different times.

First by Goldring in about 2002 so possibly not the same people as there now.

At that time they stiffed me for £500 which seemed a bit pricey!

I think it was just a re-tip as opposed to a rebuild at that time and it sounded OK and lasted a few years until the diamond just fell off.

It then went to Esco who just re-tipped it again with their paratrace

They were a lot cheaper (prices similar to now) and the cart came back sounding noticeably better than it ever had done before. The most obvious difference was that it tracked a lot better and had way less end of side distortion. It has also lasted over a decade but actually has been very little used for many years since the Linn is no longer my favoured TT.

Cartridges have moved on a lot since the troika so maybe the current Goldring rebuild uses a bit of the newer expertise in their more recent designs?
 
kota said:
That's some very impressive work, IMHO. Really curious why you haven't got the chance to give it the test drive it deserves and share your opinion with us .

Please do :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I'm waiting until my ancient NAC12/SNAPS/NAP250 is fit enough... It would be good to take a setup to whatever Scalford is now called and go back in time. Bop City and Off Ramp....

This cart was previously rebuilt by ESCO, and given to me when it had reached somewhere beyond the end of its life. At the same time as this one was rebuilt I had an old Arkiv done, and that's in my Ekos at the moment. Not that it gets used much.

ISTM that in reality cartridge technology hasn't moved significantly in the last 30 years, and that the Troika is a good foundation to build a cartridge in. So whatever comes from Goldring or Esco or the others won't be a Supex, but it has good mechanics and magnets to work from. And you're not paying dealer margin or foo fees.
 
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